A tribute to Condoleeza Rice and George W. Bush who, despite voluminious evidence to the contrary, said, "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon, that they would try to use an airplane as a missile," adding that "even in retrospect" there was "nothing" to suggest that" and "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," respectively.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Escalation of Violence: How to Win A Fight

Anyone who's seen The French Connection remembers how Popeye Doyle explained to a rookie how to handle perps in an one-up-manship escalation of violence.

For example, "He pull a knife, you pull a gun..."

Basically, this approach suggests that you use a level of or threat of violence which goes beyond that of your adversary to assure your victory but not so much so that it seems inappropriate.

This makes me wonder about Israel's response to Hezbollah and Hamas. Granted, Israel has a right to defend itself, but that defense should be measured and proportionate to the attack. Innocent civilians, young and old, are caught in the middle.

One cannot imagine Doyle saying, "He pulls a knife, you kill some stranger's wife and kids."

I don't profess to know all the aggravating factors in this most recent escalation of violence. It does worry me that this can likely lead to further escalation resulting in even more death and destruction.